Before Youngstown State, he was Robert Bolden (QB, FR).
He wasn’t in the 2010 Media Guide, so Penn State athletics had to provide his bio on a loose sheet of computer paper. We were told he would be the starting quarterback, the first freshman to start under center for Joe Paterno. We were told he was going to be good.
We were told, “He goes by Rob, not Robert.’
After Youngstown State, he was Rob Bolden, The Chosen One.
The One’s performance (20-for-29, 239 yards, two touchdowns and one pick) set the tone for the season. He was not only capable of success; he was guaranteed it. Sure, he might as well have been playing against the Sisters of Mercy, but it was a fine stat line for a freshman. He only had to prove himself against Alabama.
After Alabama, he was Rob Bolden, The Freshman.
The One does not have a 45-percent pass completion rate. The Freshman does. The One does not have two picks and no TDs. The Freshman does. The One can compete against the nation’s No. 1 team. The Freshman can compete against Kent State.
Now he is Rob Bolden (QB, FR). Since the beginning of the 2010 season, his preferred first name might seem to be the only thing we’ve learned about him.
Bolden struggled against one of the toughest defenses (if not THE toughest defense) in college football. He excelled against a weak opponent in his first game and made a few errors against a better (but still not great) defense in week three.
So what do we know about the young QB?
— He can throw the ball deep. On Penn State’s second drive of the game Saturday, Bolden took the snap at the PSU 30. He dropped back and faked a pass to Devon Smith. The defense bit, and Bolden found Derek Moye going long.
The 55-yard pass that resulted was Bolden’s longest pass and Moye’s longest reception.
‘He’s starting to mature a little more with some game experience, and…it’s just paying off for him in games,’ Moye said of Bolden.
— He can make short, accurate passes… Take away that 55-yard pass, and Bolden’s average pass distance against Kent State is 10 yards. These shorter passes cause opponents’ secondaries to focus on the plays in front on them while keeping open the eyes on the back of their heads.
Bolden has shown he can hit receivers in stride and time their cuts.
‘He knows exactly what’s going on and how we run our routes, and he continues to improve every week,’ said receiver Graham Zug.
— …but he will make mistakes. Five interceptions in three games is not a good statistic, especially when three of them come against Kent State and Youngstown State. A few passes Bolden has thrown have been simply uncatchable.
‘The first interception was a bad call on my part,’ said quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno. The second one was a a different story. ‘That’s the one, when you’re coaching, you say ‘Hey, that’s on you, not us.”
— He can run with the ball (even if he’s not supposed to). After Smith was tackled 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the second quarter, Bolden took the snap on a 2nd-and-20. With no receivers available and the pocket closing, Bolden had to take off.
He used a few quick moves to get out of the collapsing pocket, then turned on the afterburners for a 17-yard gain before getting knocked out of bounds. Like his other three runs, it was not a designed run play. But Jay Paterno said the scrambling was impressive, and ‘as we go forward, we may need to run him.’
— The receivers respect him and his progress. Said Zug: ‘He’s an all-around good quarterback…He’s doing a great job.” (He even called him an “unbelievable” quarterback.)
— He’s wearing rib protection. He wasn’t against Youngstown State or Alabama, but showed up to practice last week with some extra cushion.
Cue Jay Paterno: ‘I said, ‘Oh, you figured it out, didn’t you?”
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That sums up what’s known about Rob Bolden.
Next Saturday he’ll take on Temple in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, and the Owl defense isn’t likely to put up a great fight. Rob Bolden, The Chosen One, is likely to return.
The week that follows will be Bolden’s first reasonable test. He’ll take on the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes in enemy territory.
Under the lights.
On ABC/ESPN.
Will it be The One, or will it be The Freshman?
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Earlier Coverage
